Invisible String: the inevitable pull
♡︎ the string pulled Bella and Will three thousand miles...some connections refuse to break. some people find their way back to each other no matter the distance, the timing, or the damage left behind. for some strings- they were never meant to snap in the first place. new city, old feelings, and the pull neither of them can ignore.
SERIES MASTERLIST
Chapter 6 ♡︎ (w.c. 1.6k)
"Dude, I told you that we'd get here before the game ended" Mack said, clapping him on the shoulder as they stepped out of the car. "You owe me twenty bucks."
"Shut up, Mack," Will laughed, shoving him lightly. "You were just lucky. If that catcher hadn't dropped the ball, your guy would have been out by a mile."
"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity, my friend," Mack said, grinning as they headed toward the bar a few blocks down. "Now, preparation is about to meet a chicken wing and a cold beer."
The bar was packed, a wall of sound and the smell of fried food. They elbowed their way to the bar, ordered, and were scanning the room for a place to stand when a familiar head of brown hair caught Will's eye across the crowd.
"Is that...?" he started, squinting.
Mack followed his gaze. "No way. Kenzie? And Gabe? What are they doing all the way out here?"
Will started toward them, a genuine smile spreading across his face. It had been a while. Too long. "Kenzie? Gabe? Is that you?"
They both turned, and their expressions were... weird. Kenzie's face went through a rapid, silent auction of emotions before landing on a strained, bright smile. Gabe looked like a deer in headlights.
"Will! Hey," Kenzie said, her voice way too high. "What a coincidence."
"Small world, huh?" Will said, his eyes automatically going to the empty seat beside them. The question was out before he could stop it. "I thought I saw you guys with someone."
For a split second, Kenzie's face fell, a flicker of raw panic in her eyes. Gabe, however, went rigid.
"Uh, no," he jumped in, his voice cracking. "Just us. It's a... date night."
Will stared at him. His brain screeched to a halt. Date night? Gabe, who kissed him and came out to him literally a year ago? Gabe, who he had helped come out to his parents? He looked at Kenzie, who was now nodding along, a smile plastered on her face that looked like it hurt.
"Yeah," she added. "We're... together now. We're dating."
What the hell was happening? Will looked from Gabe's panicked face to Kenzie's pained one. This wasn't just a lie; it was a catastrophic, nonsensical lie. It was like they were speaking in a code he was supposed to crack. And the only key he could think of was the name he had just almost spoken. Bella. If they were here, and she wasn't... and they were lying about it...
"Oh," he managed, his voice sounding distant to his own ears. "Wow. Okay. That's... new."
"Very new!" Gabe chirped, his voice so unnaturally cheerful it was almost painful. "Just decided to make it official. Right, Kenz?"
"Right," Kenzie managed, her smile frozen.
Will felt Mack shift beside him. He glanced over and saw him looking at Kenzie, and the easy-going interest in his eyes had been replaced by a polite, confused blankness. He didn't know them. To him, this was just two people on a weird date. To Will, it was a blinking neon sign that something was deeply, deeply wrong.
"Well, congrats, man," Will said, clapping Gabe on the shoulder. It felt like patting a block of ice. "That's... great." The word was a hollow echo in the noisy bar. He was trying to play along, but his mind was racing. Why would they lie about this? The only reason to invent a fake relationship on the spot was to avoid a different topic. To avoid a question.
His question. About Bella.
"So, what are you guys doing here?" Kenzie asked, her voice tight. "I thought you'd be in San Jose."
"Day off," Mack answered, his tone perfectly normal. "Came up to see the A's play the Yankees. Grabbed some dinner after."
The conversation stalled, thick with everything they weren't saying. Will was looking at them, but he was seeing Bella. He was seeing her face the last time he saw it, tear-streaked and exhausted after everything Ryan had done. He was wondering if she was okay. He was wondering if she was here, somewhere in this bar, and had run the second she saw him. The thought made his stomach clench.
"Well, we should get back to our... date," Gabe said, gesturing at their table. "Lots of... date stuff to do."
"Right, of course," Will said, backing away. "It was good to see you guys. And... congrats again."
He turned and walked away with Mack, not looking back. He didn't need to. He could feel their collective sigh of relief behind his back.
Mack waited until they were outside, away from the noise, before he spoke. "That was... weird," he said, kicking at a loose piece of pavement.
"Yeah," Will agreed, his voice flat. "Weird."
"They seemed pretty freaked out," Mack observed. "And I thought you said Gabe's..."
"I know," Will cut him off. "I know."
Will stood there on the sidewalk, the cheerful noise from the bar a stark contrast to the cold knot forming in his gut. They weren't dating. That was the one thing he was sure of. Which meant the lie was for his benefit. They didn't want him to know where Bella was, or if she was with them. They were protecting her. From him.
They walked another block in silence, the city lights painting streaks on the damp pavement. Will could feel Mack's eyes on him, assessing.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," Mack said, finally stopping and turning to face him. "Gabe, who I'm pretty sure you told me once kissed you in a gay panic, is now ‘dating’ Kenzie, the girl who looks like she'd rather be anywhere else?"
"That's the story they're selling," Will said, shoving his hands in his pockets. He stared at a crack in the sidewalk, wishing he could disappear into it.
"Right." Mack drew the word out, his skepticism palpable. "And the only reason they would invent a relationship so profoundly unbelievable is because you asked about Bella."
Will didn't answer. He didn't have to. The confirmation was written all over his face.
"Okay," Mack said softly, his tone shifting from teasing to understanding. "So she was there. Or she was with them. And she took off the second she saw you."
The words were a punch to the gut, but they were the truth. "Looks that way," Will admitted, his voice rough.
"Damn, man," Mack sighed, running a hand through his hair. "That's rough."
They started walking again, a heavy, uncomfortable silence settling between them. Will felt exposed, his past suddenly paraded out in front of his best friend. He hated it. He hated that a single name could still have this much power over him.
"So," Mack said after a moment, his voice deliberately lighter. "On a completely unrelated and much more important note... Kenzie's hot."
Will stopped walking and stared at him. "What?"
"Kenzie," Mack repeated, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Brunette. Great smile. Seemed a little high-strung, but I'm into that. She's hot. You can't tell me you never noticed."
Will felt a strange, protective anger flare up in his chest. It was irrational. Kenzie was Bella's best friend, and she was definitely... attractive. But hearing Mack say it, hearing him reduce her to just 'hot,' felt wrong, especially after the messy, painful interaction they'd just had.
"Mack, don't," Will warned, his voice low. "Just... leave it."
"Leave what?" Mack asked, genuinely confused. "I'm just making an observation. I'm a single guy. She's a single... well, apparently not single girl. But she seemed into me before the whole 'dating Gabe' bomb dropped."
"She's not just some random girl, Mack," Will said, his frustration mounting. "She's Bella's best friend. It's complicated."
"Everything's complicated with you," Mack shot back, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "It's been months, Will. Months. And you're still letting her dictate who you can and can't talk to? Who I can and can't think is hot? Kenzie seemed nice. And yeah, hot. What's the big deal?"
"The big deal is that they just lied to my face to protect her from me!" Will's voice rose, the words tearing out of him before he could stop them. "They're her friends, Mack. They're on her side. They're not going to let you anywhere near her if they think you're my wingman. You'll just be making things worse."
Mack's grin finally faded, replaced by a look of dawning comprehension. "Oh. I get it. So I'm off-limits too."
"I didn't say that," Will said, though he had. "I'm just saying... stay away from it. For me. It's a mess."
"Fine," Mack conceded, sighing dramatically. "I'll add 'Kenzie' to the list of forbidden topics, right after 'Bella' and 'that one time in Boston.' You're a real joy to hang out with, you know that?"
"Sorry," Will mumbled, the anger draining out of him as quickly as it had appeared. He knew Mack was right. He was a mess. And his mess was starting to spill over onto everyone around him.
They walked the rest of the way to their car in silence. As Mack pulled out into traffic, Will stared out the window, the city lights a blur. He wasn't just thinking about Bella anymore. He was thinking about Kenzie and Gabe, standing there in that noisy bar, building a wall of lies to keep him out. And he was thinking about the cold, hard truth: he wasn't just in a different city. He was on the other side of a war he hadn't even known he was still fighting.
taglist- @destinyg237 @heeseungthel0ml @slutformatt17 @hockeyismylife5 @smittys2 @overmtter
**a/n: clock the fuck out of him Mack🫢😂 “you’re a real joy to hang out with, you know that?”- bratlin celebrini
uh ohhhh mack & mackenzie?? hello mack²(;
scheduling Will a lobotomy because he needs it </3
